Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith exited Sunday’s 24-17 loss to the Denver Broncos with a right shoulder injury.
Smith was injured during the third quarter and later gave way to backup Kenny Pickett at the start of the fourth quarter.
Raiders coach Pete Carroll was concerned afterward but said initial tests “didn’t show any damage” to Smith’s passing shoulder.
“It’s just kind of jammed up right now,” Carroll said. “The early indications that they were able to get didn’t show any damage. His shoulder’s really locked up. So, we’ll see what that means.”
Carroll said he didn’t see Smith get injured.
“From what I understand, and I didn’t see the play happen, but he got banged on the shoulder pretty obviously,” Carroll said
Smith also sustained an injury to his right hand in the first half.
“From what I heard, he got his hand cut and it was bleeding a lot,” Carroll said. “And so, they just had to stop the bleeding. He got kicked or scraped or something like that. That’s what I heard, I didn’t see that. But his shoulder — he got hit pretty good.”
Smith completed 13 of 21 passes for 116 yards and one touchdown before exiting. Pickett finished 8-of-11 passing for 97 yards and a touchdown.
Smith, 35, has passed for 2,648 yards and 16 touchdowns and is tied for the NFL lead with 14 interceptions. He is in his first season with the Raiders after being acquired from the Seattle Seahawks in the offseason.
Pickett, a former starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers, also is in his first season with Las Vegas. He was acquired from the Cleveland Browns in late August.
The Raiders (2-11) have lost seven straight games heading into the Dec. 14 game at the Philadelphia Eagles.
